Calhoun Street is named for John C. Calhoun, the "Great Nullifier." Originally the eastern portion of the street was Boundary Street, as after the Revolution it marked the northern extent of the city. The area above Boundary Street was known as Charleston Neck. The portion west of King Street was called Manigault Street, for Peter Manigault, speaker of the House. The entire length of the street became Calhoun Street after the city limit was extended to Mt. Pleasant Street in 1849. (Rogers, Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys, 61. Smith & Smith, Dwelling Houses, 297. Smith, "Charleston and Charleston Neck," 3-4. )

47 Calhoun St.This early 19th century buildlng appears to have been built in the 1830s, but perhaps represents an 1830s remodeling of an earlier buildlng. If the former, it was built probably by Thomas Heath, c. 1835. If the latter, it was possibly built by Charles Cunningham, a King Street merchant, sometime after 1806. The two and one half story frame house has interior woodwork typical of the 1830s. Originally a residence, the building was more recently made into a store and residence. (Stockton, DYKYC, March 9, 1981.)77 Calhoun St.Charleston Municipal Auditorium, built by the City of Charleston, was dedicated in 1966. It was later renamed Gaillard Auditorium, for former Mayor J. Palmer Gaillard. The building occupies a l2-acre site between Alexander and Anson Streets and, as a result of this construction, George Street was extended westward from Anson to connect with East Bay at a point where Minority Street formerly intersected with East Bay. The auditorium was designed by Charleston architects Lucas & Stubbs and built by McDivett & Street of Charlotte, N.C. at a cost of $5,500,000, including land and buildings. The main part of the auditorium seats more than 2,700 persons and the Exhibition Hall has 14,000 square feet and can accommodate 1,500 persons in banquet style. The building was designed so that separate events can be carried on simultaneously in the auditorium and hall. (Stockton, unpub. notes.)85 Calhoun St.The Arch Building, so-called from the wide arched passage through the first floor, is believed to have been built c. 1800 and rebuilt in the 1850s. Tradition says it was built for the wagon trade, with a wagon yard behind it. The two and one-half story, stuccoed brick building was saved during the clearing of the auditorium site and restored by the Historic Charleston Foundation, which leased it for use as the Visitor Information Center of the Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce. (Historic Charleston Foundation, unpub. notes; Leland, DYKYC, Oct. 21, 1983.)110 Calhoun St.The original congregation of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, consisting of free blacks and slaves, was organized in 1791 as the Free African Society, which built a church in the vicinity of Hanover and Amherst streets. The congregation joined in 1818 the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the name was changed to the Bethel Circuit. Morris Brown, a free black preacher, led the movement in Charleston to organize black Methodists into an independent organization. The Bethel Circuit, in 1818, had about 1,000 members. In 1822, after the alleged Denmark Vesey plot was discovered, the church was investigated because Vesey had been a founder. The church was burned as a result of the controversy. It was rebuilt and continued in operation until 1834, when law closed all black churches. Morris Brown was found innocent of any connection with the alleged plot, but he was pressured into leaving the state and went to Philadelphia. The congregation met in secret until 1865, whe it was formally reorganized.